Furnace

By Mike McClintock and Special to Tribune Newspapers | October 9, 2009

If you're heating plant is running at about 60 percent efficiency, it's time to buy a new one because you're losing 40 cents of every fuel dollar as exhaust. For everyone else, there are basic jobs (some you can do, some for a pro) that maximize the heating potential of a furnace. The most basic is to have the system cleaned and, if necessary, tuned. Except for electric units (they rarely need service), a furnace is a combustion engine that gets dirty, gradually loses efficiency,...

Icicles were hanging in 60-year-old Oak Park resident Michael McKee's home after his furnace stopped working in late December and he could not afford to fix it. The Celebrating Seniors Coalition learned of McKee's situation and the nonprofit paid to fix the furnace two days later. "It meant that we didn't have to scramble to find someplace else to go," McKee said of the minor repair, which replaced a damaged element in the furnace. The Coalition has been helping...

Mayor Richard Daley on Thursday formed a task force to establish guidelines for workers who install, repair or replace mechanical systems, including furnace and air conditioning and ventilation systems. This is in the wake of last week's deaths of Jesus and Graciela Orejel and their eight children, who were poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes escaping from the home's furnace. City Building Commissioner Daniel Weil said the group will decide whether installers should have a certain...

Casey Affleck is pairing up with producer John Powers Middleton to launch a production company focused on creating films and TV series. The duo has not yet finalized details on the rumored -- and unnamed -- joint venture, which has not been officially announced. Speculation has emerged that a production chief will be selected later this month. The company is being designed to afford Affleck the opportunity to focus more on producing, writing, and directing. ...

Subsidies are available for furnace repair or replacement in Du Page County single-family homes or apartment buildings owned or rented by qualified applicants through the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program. Under the program, private contractors make repairs or replace furnaces after an assessor evaluates the status of the equipment. Assistance is available through the program on a one-time basis only, except in the case where a house or apartment building has suffered from a...

The AFI Fest has set its 28th edition for November 6 to 13 in Hollywood. AFI has also opened filmmaker submissions through its website or through Withoutabox.com . June 27 is the early submission deadline and August 8 is the final submission deadline for both features and shorts. Last year's festival opened with the North American premiere of " Saving Mr. Banks " and featured the world premieres of " Lone Survivor " and "Out of the Furnace," along with tributes to...

Authorities suspect a man forced his wife into an industrial furnace before getting in it himself, killing both in a murder-suicide. Police said Jose Webster, 36, brought his wife, Karla Ramos, 26, and their two children to his place of work, which was closed for business, on Saturday night. There apparently was a struggle before Karla Ramos was put into the furnace and killed, the county medical examiner's office said. The children were not hurt. Police and medical...

Following the huge success of "Lee Daniels' The Butler," Forest Whitaker is looking to stay busy in 2014 both in front of and behind the camera as he is in final negotiations to write, direct and star in Lionsgate's adaptation of best-selling novel " The Shack ." Whitaker is also in talks to join Liam Neeson in Fox's " Taken 3 ," which he will probably do first, and then follow with "The Shack." Based on the William P. Young novel...

"Out of the Furnace" is a lot of movie, a lot of it good and pungent. In the first hour especially, its many moving parts keep a sprawling ensemble cast busy and engaged. Christian Bale and Casey Affleck play Russell and Rodney, sons of a dying Pennsylvania steelworker. Russell has gone into the family business, working in the mill. Rodney enlists in the Army. The year is 2008. An early twist of fate lands Russell in prison. Upon his release, he and...

Jan 28 (Reuters) - United States Steel Corp said on Tuesday it was applying for permits to build an electric arc furnace at its Alabama steelmaking plant to replace a blast furnace, a move by the loss making company to cut costs and revamp one of its older, less efficient operations. U.S. Steel Chief Executive Officer Mario Longhi declined to say what the new furnace at its Fairfield Works operation would cost but said it would have a steel...

USX-U.S. Steel Group said the biggest blast furnace at its Gary Works has been shut since Monday and could cost as much as $5 million to fix. The unexpected outage could reduce steel output at the plant in Gary, Ind., by 80,000 tons by the time of the expected restart of the ironmaking furnace early next week, the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said. No one was injured in the incident that damaged the furnace.

Twelve people, including several children, were taken to hospitals after they were sickened by carbon monoxide fumes from a faulty furnace in an apartment building in Skokie early this morning. Firefighters were called to the apartment around 3:15 a.m. to check on a sick person and recorded high levels of carbon monoxide, according to Skokie Fire Capt. Steven Ludkowski. "So they started knocking on doors," he said. Six ambulances took the 12 people were taken to hospitals...

In his first role since retiring the bat suit, Christian Bale shows his grittier side in the new trailer for Relativity's "Out of the Furnace." Pic has all-star cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck and Zoe Saldana with "Crazy Heart" helmer Scott Cooper directing. Story follows Bale's character whose brother has gone missing and must take matters into his own hands to find out what happened to him. The film had been in...

Deerfield police are asking for help from residents after recent burglaries of homes under construction. Two unfinished homes - one on the 1500 block of Oakwood Place and the other on the 1100 block of Warrington Road - were burglarized between Dec. 4 and the morning of Dec. 6, said Deerfield Deputy Police Chief Tom Keane. The burglars took appliances from both homes; there are no leads yet on suspects. Residents should be vigilant around construction sites and...

USX-U.S. Steel Group said a disabled blast furnace at its Gary mill won't resume operating for 30 to 35 more days. The furnace, which accounts for 25 percent of the steelmaker's iron production, has been idle since a fire last Tuesday. The company said it hasn't determined how much the repairs will cost or how much the shutdown will hurt it financially.

By Eric Kelsey BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec 5 (Reuters) - A brief drive through Pittsburgh's down-and-out steel mill borough of Braddock at the time of the economic downturn in 2009 was all it took, and director Scott Cooper knew where he wanted to set his next film. The problem: He didn't have a story. Now, the distillation of the time spent among Braddock's working-class single-family homes and rusted-out iron furnaces along the Monongahela...

The manufacturer of a furnace that seeped carbon monoxide that apparently killed a family of 10 obtained a protective order to insure that the furnace is preserved because of impending litigation. Officials of York International Corp., who got the order from Cook County Circuit Judge Francis Barth, said they had been advised that the firm may be named as a defendant in a product liability suit. The company said that "various service personnel" have serviced the furnace since its...

"Out of the Furnace" is a lot of movie, a lot of it good and pungent. In the first hour especially, its many moving parts keep a sprawling ensemble cast busy and engaged. Christian Bale and Casey Affleck play Russell and Rodney, sons of a dying Pennsylvania steelworker. Russell has gone into the family business, working in the mill. Rodney enlists in the Army. The year is 2008. An early twist of fate lands Russell in prison. Upon his release, he and...

By Eric Kelsey BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec 5 (Reuters) - A brief drive through Pittsburgh's down-and-out steel mill borough of Braddock at the time of the economic downturn in 2009 was all it took, and director Scott Cooper knew where he wanted to set his next film. The problem: He didn't have a story. Now, the distillation of the time spent among Braddock's working-class single-family homes and rusted-out iron furnaces along the Monongahela...

News briefs from St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and Elburn. St. Charles Board vacancy The St. Charles Public Library District Board of Trustees is seeking a resident to fill a vacancy on the board with a term ending in May 2015. Candidates should submit a statement of interest and resume to: Board of Trustees, St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. 6th Ave., St. Charles, IL, 60174, and mark the envelope with the words "board candidate. " Applications will be accepted until 5...